Phones
by Skovko
Summary: AJ is on his way to buy a birthday present for his youngest when a phone starts ringing. He makes the decision to step into the phone booth to answer, not knowing that small decision leads to something much bigger. He has to play a game with the duchess.


AJ was walking in his own thoughts. He had been sent out to buy a birthday present for his youngest. His mind was set on a doll for her but his wife had tried explaining that her growing up with three brothers had their youngest liking other toys as well. AJ was gonna wait until he reached the toy store to make up his mind.

A ringing phone made him look around. It wasn't the fact that a phone was ringing that made him look. It was the ring tone itself. Old fashion like back in the days before cell phones. His eyes caught a phone booth. The phone inside was ringing.

He looked around but no one seemed to make a move towards the ringing phone. Not that there were a lot of people to choose from. It was a quiet day, early in the morning. Most people were heading to work and didn't have time to stop. Without thinking further about it, he stepped into the phone booth and answered the phone.

"Hello?" He asked.  
"Welcome to the game," a female voice said.

He heard a click behind him. He turned around and grabbed the door. It was locked.

"What the hell?" He asked.  
"You're currently stuck in a phone booth with me as your only lifeline. Whether you walk out of there alive or decide to make the small space your tomb is up to you," she said.  
"Who the hell are you, lady?" He asked.  
"The duchess," she answered.

He couldn't help but laugh at that. That sounded so stupid. No way was she a real duchess. Even if she was, no duchess would call a phone booth just to trap some random person inside it.

"You laugh now but look around," she said. "Up in each corner you'll see small devices. To your left is your doom. If you choose not to do what I say, I will pour sarin into the phone booth through that device and kill you. If you don't know what sarin is, here's a short history lesson for you. It's a nerve gas developed in Germany during World War II. We all know what happened in Germany during that dark time."

He stared at the small object and swallowed hard. He hadn't seen one of those before but he was sure she wasn't lying. It looked like something that gas could be sent through.

"Look up in the right corner," she said. "Smile to the camera."

He looked up at the camera in the right corner. So the sick fucker on the line was watching him. He couldn't make a move without her knowing.

"AJ Styles," she said.  
"How do you know?" He asked.  
"Google image search," she answered. "Wow, you're famous. You got a wife and four children. It would be a shame if you didn't make it home to them."  
"Please," he pleaded.  
"Do as I say and you'll be home soon," she said.

His lip quivered and he nodded.

"What do you want?" He asked.  
"Feel on top of the phone. You'll find three cell phones up there," she said.

He reached on top of the black phone and pulled down the three cell phones. He placed them on the small silver tray under the phone and looked at them. He thought about calling the police on one of them but he knew they wouldn't make it before she would pour sarin in and kill him.

"Each phone has one number encoded," she said.

He clicked into the phone books on each phone and saw a number on each of them. Three different numbers.

"Call one," she said.  
"Who do they belong to?" He asked.  
"Curiosity killed the cat," she chuckled. "Call one and the door will unlock."  
"What if I choose the wrong one?" He asked.  
"There isn't a wrong choice. The only wrong choice is if you don't call any of them. Play the game, AJ. Call one phone and be free to go," she said.

He picked up a phone but put it back down. He knew there had to be a catch. He just didn't know what.

"What will I say when someone answers?" He asked.  
"Nothing," she answered. "All you gotta do is call one of the numbers."  
"What's the catch?" He asked.  
"One more stupid question out of your mouth and the game ends for you," she said. "Is that what you want? Do you want your family to get a call telling them that you died?"  
"No, please!" He begged. "I'll do it, alright? I'll call a number."  
"Good boy," she said.

He stared at the phones again. What harm could calling a number do? A lot of harm if it turned out to be to some secret military base or government facility. Men in uniforms could be storming the street to take him away in no time.

"You promise I'll go home? No one's coming for me, right?" He asked.  
"I promise you'll be okay," she said. "I'm the duchess. I stand by my word."  
"Duchess," he whispered.  
"Remember that when someone asks. The duchess. That name will be in the papers," she said.  
"The papers? Why?" He asked.  
"This is taking too long. I'm gonna count down from 10. If you haven't called anyone when I reach 0, game over," she said. "10... 9... 8..."

He moved his hand to one phone, then to the second, and finally to the third. He didn't know what phone to choose.

"7... 6... 5... 4..." She counted.

He finally grabbed the nearest phone.

"3... 2..." She counted.  
"I'm calling!" He shouted.

He called the number and put the phone to his other ear. As soon as he heard the dialing tone, the sound of an explosion hit him. A bomb had gone off somewhere. He looked out to see everyone staring in the direction of the sound. Smoke was filling the air further away. He stared at the cell phone in his hand and dropped it on the floor. He knew it was him. He had called the number that set off that bomb.

"Who did I just kill?" He asked.  
"Thank you for playing," she said.

He heard a click behind him again. He turned around and opened the door. He stepped out of the phone booth and stared towards the smoke as everyone else. The duchess. Her name would be in the papers as soon as he had spoken to the police. She had used him in whatever sick plan she had. She had made him activate a bomb and kill people.

He stood back with questions he didn't know how to answer. Why him? Why now? Who was the woman calling herself the duchess? Where did the bomb go off? Who had he killed because of this? Where were the two other bombs connected with the two other cell phones? And how was he ever gonna live with this on his conscience?


End file.
